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My Anker Solix Home Power Panel and F3800s setup

I have one more question for anybody who might know. Main CTs are there to enable TOU on main panel, isn’t that right ? If I just put CTs on the HPPs own breaker on main panel, would it never push any power back ?
The CT clamps on the main legs will take into consideration the draw from both the main panel circuits and the sub panel circuits. If you move these clamps to the grid side connection of the HPP, then the HPP can only see the draw from the sub panel circuits, and will not see any draw from the main panel circuits anymore. So any ToU AC coupling will be done to cover the sub panel loads only and will omit coverage for the main panel loads. So you will get partial but not complete AC coupling by the HPP.

In Self Consumption mode which is used primarily to optimize and automate grid-tied solar use and priority, the CT clamp for the solar production will still record proper solar production and I think it should still prioritize solar use first, but it might think that there's more excess solar to store into the battery because it won't see the loads from the main panel. So instead of prioritizing to use the solar production up to cover the loads in the main panel, it will always use grid for the loads in the main panel and reserve the solar excess production to cover the loads in the sub panel only.
 
so my 3800, I have one leg with 4 360 watt panels in parallel. the other has a 48volt server-rack battery feeding.

for some reasons i cannot get the 3800 to get above 400 watts even though the panels can far exceed that when in series and plugged into the separate charge controlled.

not sure why. itll take in 1150 from the 48 volt battery, just never from the solar panels. they are 49.1 voc and 39.3 vmax so voltage is above the weird 32 volt middle ground.

not sure if anyone else has this issue with their anker solix


btw, the new 3800+ was released today
 
What's the Imp of your 360W panels? Did you swap sides between the 48V and the solar panels to see if it's still the same issue and it's not specific to a side? Just curious, what if you separate out these 4 panels into 2 branches to feed into both XT60 ports just to see how they behave with a different configuration? Did you actually take a Voltmeter and confirm the 49V Voc?
 
Haven't swapped sides but thats a good idea that I thought of and never got around. To.

I have 49 volt voc panels I am series. It's definitely capping the input for some reason

Oh well 500 volt solar mppt arrives today. Gonna run it all in series and usually my rack battery setup
 
The CT clamps on the main legs will take into consideration the draw from both the main panel circuits and the sub panel circuits. If you move these clamps to the grid side connection of the HPP, then the HPP can only see the draw from the sub panel circuits, and will not see any draw from the main panel circuits anymore. So any ToU AC coupling will be done to cover the sub panel loads only and will omit coverage for the main panel loads. So you will get partial but not complete AC coupling by the HPP.

In Self Consumption mode which is used primarily to optimize and automate grid-tied solar use and priority, the CT clamp for the solar production will still record proper solar production and I think it should still prioritize solar use first, but it might think that there's more excess solar to store into the battery because it won't see the loads from the main panel. So instead of prioritizing to use the solar production up to cover the loads in the main panel, it will always use grid for the loads in the main panel and reserve the solar excess production to cover the loads in the sub panel only.
So I got these for testing : https://shop.emporiaenergy.com/prod...e-sensors-for-gen-3-vue-power-supply-included .

They fit over the busbars, and, surprisingly, they kind of work with the HPP. It sees 0 current (no power) at the mains, but actual measurement appears to be off by about 1.5x. If I run 1kW kettle, HPP shows about 1.5kW draw. However, when I enable TOU, HPP appears to put out just enough power to make main draw be zero. In TOU mode, my 1kW kettle reads as 1kW output from HPP., and my meter also shows 0kW. When power usage goes above max HPP output, it starts showing the incorrect 1.5x power reading for the extra Grid power. Not sure if there are any potential issue with using these. I'm trying to find a different coil/integrator that would match HPPs CTs ratio exactly. I think they are 1/3000 ratio.
 
So I got these for testing : https://shop.emporiaenergy.com/prod...e-sensors-for-gen-3-vue-power-supply-included .

They fit over the busbars, and, surprisingly, they kind of work with the HPP. It sees 0 current (no power) at the mains, but actual measurement appears to be off by about 1.5x. If I run 1kW kettle, HPP shows about 1.5kW draw. However, when I enable TOU, HPP appears to put out just enough power to make main draw be zero. In TOU mode, my 1kW kettle reads as 1kW output from HPP., and my meter also shows 0kW. When power usage goes above max HPP output, it starts showing the incorrect 1.5x power reading for the extra Grid power. Not sure if there are any potential issue with using these. I'm trying to find a different coil/integrator that would match HPPs CTs ratio exactly. I think they are 1/3000 ratio.
Thanks for sharing this. That's interesting. Did you try Continental Control Systems? They sell the CT extension wires and they also seem to sell lots of CT clamps as well.
 
Thanks for sharing this. That's interesting. Did you try Continental Control Systems? They sell the CT extension wires and they also seem to sell lots of CT clamps as well.
The way the busbars are in my panels, I doubt any CT will fit. There probably less that 1/2" space behind them. However, flexible Rogowski coils work fine. Emporia based setup has been working fine for a week now. PoCo data shows near 0 usage in peak hours, and I've been looking at the meter during peak hours and it shows either 0 or very low inbound wattage. Home and Grid usage in Anker app are definitely wrong though.

For my next project, I found a Chinese company selling various Rogowski coils and integrators on eBay. They are providing one that supposed to match Anker's CT spec exactly. $140 shipped, from China. Will report how that works.
 
Hi all, I am finding this thread to be very informative - moreso than any other video or spec sheet about the F3800. I am trying to decide if the F3800 w/ HPP is the correct product for me, as I'm trying to specifically use it for PEAK SHAVING.

Currently my electric service from the grid only gives me 60 amps (old building - this cannot be changed for the time being) and I would like to be able to "supplement" this with a battery whenever needed. When a low amount of appliances are in use, then usage will stay below the 60 amps and be fine... the issue is when I have many appliances (washer, dryer, microwave, dishwasher, air fryer, etc) it will go above this 60 amp limit, and most of these appliances are only on a small fraction of the time - I need a battery to step in at these times.

So I need a system that discharges the battery for the electric required above 60 amps, but that recharges whenever load is below 60 amps. Will the F3800 + HPP be able to do this?

Thank you for the detailed insight you've all written so far!
 
So I need a system that discharges the battery for the electric required above 60 amps, but that recharges whenever load is below 60 amps. Will the F3800 + HPP be able to do this?
I don’t think HPP will work for you.

In terms of charging/discharging, HPP has a very basic TOU setup. It Is completely based on time and pricing, not current limits.

Also, in grid up situation, HPP only attempts to zero-out grid usage up to 6kW or 25amps (depending on number of F3800 and/or BP3800 connected). Once your demand is above 25amps, you will always be using the grid. That is to say, when TOU is active, you always use HPP power first before you use the grid.

Hope this helps
 
Hi all, I am finding this thread to be very informative - moreso than any other video or spec sheet about the F3800. I am trying to decide if the F3800 w/ HPP is the correct product for me, as I'm trying to specifically use it for PEAK SHAVING.

Currently my electric service from the grid only gives me 60 amps (old building - this cannot be changed for the time being) and I would like to be able to "supplement" this with a battery whenever needed. When a low amount of appliances are in use, then usage will stay below the 60 amps and be fine... the issue is when I have many appliances (washer, dryer, microwave, dishwasher, air fryer, etc) it will go above this 60 amp limit, and most of these appliances are only on a small fraction of the time - I need a battery to step in at these times.

So I need a system that discharges the battery for the electric required above 60 amps, but that recharges whenever load is below 60 amps. Will the F3800 + HPP be able to do this?

Thank you for the detailed insight you've all written so far!
It will not work quite the way you want. First, a single F3800 can deliver 6000W off-grid, but when supplementing the grid can only backfeed 1900W. Add a BP3800 expansion, can boost that to 3800W on-grid. If we're talking mainly 120V loads, that's 3800/120 = 31A. So it is capable of shaving the first 31A, and allowing the rest to be drawn from the grid.

But as was mentioned, it's strictly time-based, so when in Peak period, it will always supply the first 31A, not just when the load is high. So it's more like a base-shaving than a peak-shaving. Now you could set large Peak periods, e.g. during the day when appliances are mostly in-use, to give you that extra headroom for those brief periods you need it. And then recharge at night when you don't need the base-shaving. So that does effectively give you a 90A daytime supply while keeping a 60A main breaker.

The challenge it that roundtrip efficiencies on all batteries are typically 75-85% to do that, the F3800 I think is closer to 75%. A good part of that is keeping a 6000W inverter powered for good parts of the day and night to discharge and recharge, even if most of the day you're pulling very low base loads. Including always an inherent ~10% loss just charging and discharging a battery too. So it's going to use like 30-35% more electricity on your monthly bills to give you that 90A daytime supply.

Possibly workable if your utility has an aggressive TOU plan (at least 40% spread in peak rates) to go with it, as the peak rates would likely line up well with when you're using the most appliances. Then you're charging at night very cheaply, and doing actual peak-shaving of your utility draw during peak rate hours, offsetting the roundtrip efficiency losses while giving you that 90A daytime supply.

Another possibly way to use it. 60A is at least 4 15A appliances used simultaneously, so presumably you only trip your main breaker when trying to run 5 or 6 appliances during rare concurrences. You could just perma-run a few occasional appliances off-grid via the F3800, say the washer/dryer, only turning on the 6000W inverter when you turn on the washer or dryer, so don't have the inverter losses all the time. And you get the full 6000W inverter capability (which is actual 25A on each 120V leg) running these appliances off-grid. (Note off-grid in this context means the F3800 still charges from grid - just the appliances plugged into the F3800 are not connected through the mains. In this mode, you also don't need the extra expense of the BP3800 expansion battery to realize that 25A either - you get effectively 85A of total capacity for your household with just one F3800.
 
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Above is a picture of my Anker Solix Home Power Panel and F3800 + BP3800 setup. There are a few notable differences between my setup and most of the other setups you see in the many YouTube videos about this.

1. Mine is not in the garage or basement near the main electrical panel. This is because I live in Arizona so it would just be way too hot to put this setup in my garage. Afterall, the high operating temperature specs for all these equipment are for 40C or 104F top. Even though I've seen my F3800 operate inside my car's hatchback (EVSE charging my Chevy Volt still operating at 130C just fine, but for sure I don't want it to be long term inside my garage where the temperature can easily climb to 110F in the summer.

2. My setup is indoors (where it's nice and cool) in a little nook right by the kitchen area. I take advantage of the fact that my kitchen oven outlet of 240V on a 40A circuit breaker is unused because I have a gas stove, so I just plug an RV 240V Nema 14-50P 50A 6 AWG extension cord into this kitchen oven outlet that is connected to my main electrical panel with a 40A breaker. This way I don't need to hire an electrician to run a dedicated power line from the Anker Home Power Panel out to the main panel (that is 50 ft away) and add a new breaker. I would say that this is the key enabling factor to allow me to do my Anker HPP/F3800/BP3800 indoors at minimal cost. I don't think my home loads would ever exceed 40A during Time of Use anyway (I have gas stove, gas furnace, gas dryer, gas water heater), so tapping into this 40A 240V oven outlet should suffice for me.

3. Obviously I do not opt to use a backup load subpanel for critical load circuit backup in an outage. That setup is strictly optional. The main purpose of my setup is only for Time of Use mode money savings. I don't have an issue with power outage where I live. Maybe every other year, there might be a short (less than an hour) power outage that I can live with. If I ever need longer term backup for outages, I can always disconnect the F3800s from the Home Power Panel and run them as stand-alone backup batteries with extension cords to the fridge/freezer and other appliances.

4. Although I was able to avoid running a power line from the Home Power Panel out to the main electrical panel by utilizing the 40A 240V unused oven outlet less than 10 feet away from where my HPP is, I still needed to run the 2 Current Transformer wires that clip on my 2 main grid power lines back to where the Home Power Panel is. The supplied CT twisted pair wires are only 16 ft long. But they can be spliced and extended for longer runs if necessary (I think up to 100 ft, but I only need another 50 ft). The same CT wires (20 AWG rated at 600V) sold by a third party is $220 for 100 ft long before shipping cost. So I bought straight 18 awg wires rated for 600V on Amazon for under $30 and twisted them up myself. The challenge was how to run them from the main panel to where my HPP is indoors. Luckily my home is prepared with an empty conduit for solar wires (if I choose to install them later) in the attic out to a recessed box just a few feet from the main panel, so I was able to make use of this empty conduit to feed the CT wires to where my HPP is inside.

5. So now I can set up my Time of Use options in the HPP so that the 2 F3800s and 2 BP3800s will power my whole house (via AC coupling controlled by the HPP) during peak hours, then have the HPP recharge them during Super Off Peak hours. I have a 12000 BTU window AC in my great room, and with 2 F3800s and 2 BP3800s, I can keep this window AC running at max power for 6 hours straight during the peak time and still have about 35% charge left when Super Off Peak time resumes. We use induction stove top for cooking to keep the kitchen cooler (compared to gas cooking) and this uses the battery power as well. I have a Micro-Air EasyStart Flex soft starter on order for my 4 ton central AC. Once it's installed, I should be able to run it during the Peak hours as well to cool the whole house, instead of just running the 12K BTU window AC to cool the great room. But with only 15.4 KWH from my batteries, I can probably run the 4 ton AC for only 3.5 hours before I'm out of battery juice. Hey, but at least I have that option that I can use judiciously during peak hours.

6. A few things to note about Time of Use limitations with the Anker setup. In off-grid backup load mode, you can expect to get the full 6000W from each F3800, totaling 12 KW for 2 F3800s to power your whole house. HOWEVER, in Time of Use mode, the Anker HPP will derate the power down to 1.92 KW for 1 F3800, double it to 3.84 KW of power for 1 F300 + 1 BP3800, or for 2 F3800s. If you have 1 F3800 + 2 BP3800, or 2 F3800 + 1 BP300, then the derating allows 5.76 KW output. If you have more than this, like 1 F3800 and 3 or more BP3800s, or 2 F3800s and 2 or more BP3800s, then the derating is increased to 6 KW top. This is only half of the supposed 12 KW max you're supposed to get with 2 F3800s. The reason Anker gives to justify this derating is that it's designed like that to help prolong the battery life of the whole setup. I think it's a cap on purpose, not due to any physical limitation, because obviously in grid-down backup mode, there's no cap at all. Perhaps the rationale is that grid-down backup is infrequent enough that an all-out no-cap no-limitation is more justifiable than regular daily time-of-use scenarios, at least in terms of preservation for battery longevity.

7. This limitation does put a little damper into my setup because my 4 ton central AC does draw around 4000 W of power, so I would only have around 2000 W of power left (out of my 6000 W derated cap) for use on other things such as induction cooking, etc. On top of that, this 2000 W of power actually means 1000 W of power on each of the 120V leg. So if I have 2 loads of 1000 W of 2 different legs, it'd be OK. But if the 2 loads of 1000 W each are both on the same leg, then it wouldn't be enough.

8. Another worth observation is that with most generator setup in a grid-down situation, you'd need a soft starter on your 3 or 4 ton and up central AC for a generator to be able to run it without choking due to the initial in-rush current. But for an Anker Time of Use scenario (not a grid-down scenario), a soft starter is not necessary to be installed on the central AC compressor, because the grid is still available to supply the large in-rush current that the AC compressor demands, but right after that, the F3800s will take over and run the AC on battery power. Now if your Time of Use plan is just a higher energy cost setup during peak time, this large in-rush current is so short that it wouldn't cost you much in terms of total energy anyway. But if your Time of Use plan is a "Demand" type plan that punishes you for a more instantaneous "peak" demand draw in terms of KW draw, and the grid meter is fast enough to capture this "peak in-rush" draw (remains to be seen), then a soft starter to reduce this in-rush might be beneficial to avoid steep instantaneous demand penalties.

9. When the Peak time is over, if you use the (regular) Off Peak mode in your Time of Use planning, it will not recharge the battery. Make sure you use the Super Off Peak mode if you want it to recharge your batteries. It'll recharge at the max rate of 2.77 KW for each of the F3800 and BP3800 combination you have. In my case, it 2x 2.77 KW = 5.5 KW for 2 F3800 + 2 BP 3800s.

10. Super Off Peak recharging of the batteries is always up to 100%. There's no option to set the state of charge to something lower in this mode. But there's a manual workaround if you want to stop charging at a certain SOC. For example, if you prefer for the HPP to stop charging the batteries at 80%, then set the Battery Reserve to 80% and switch from Time of Use mode to Self Consumption mode. The batteries will be charged up by the grid to 80% and then stopped there. The Self Consumption mode has a hard stop at the Battery Reserve and will not self consume below it. At this point, the grid will supply power to the home loads because the batteries are not allowed to self consume past this Battery Reserve level. Of course this will take away the automation for Time of Use. But it's helpful if you don't want to have the batteries at 100% SOC over the weekend in order to help preserve the life of the batteries. Then before the Peak time on Monday resumes, manually switch back to Time of Use mode before then to resume Time of Use for the next 5 weekdays.

I'm personally on a Demand time-of-use plan, not just a regular Peak time-of-use plan, so my off peak energy rate is the lowest pricing with my power company (currently at 5.6 cents per kwh). However, any instantaneous peak demand draw will be penalized heavily. But with this Time of Use mode that I have, it works out very well for my use case. In the winter months, there are 2 peak periods (from 5-9 am then 5-9 pm), so the level of Time of Use automation that the HPP setup does for me is doubly convenient.

I don't use any solar or plan to use any because my Super Off Peak rate of 5.6 cents per kwh is so cheap that I can't really justify the cost of solar over this cheap rate. I'd rather use that money to buy more BP3800 expansion battery for my setup instead, when they go on sale cheap enough. But if somebody has a load-side-tap solar setup, the Anker HPP does include a current transformer to monitor this solar load and judiciously combine its use with the battery usage to enable optimal self-consumption mode to use up the power produced by the solar and then save any excess solar power into the batteries if the home loads can't use it all up. Line-side-tap solar setups cannot take advantage of this solar load monitoring and optimized usage, however.
Excellent rather a smart use of the Solix setup. I have 2 x f388 with 2x batteries with Solix double power hub. I charge the F3800's with solar and run my house during peak hours by using a manual changeover switch. I am very interested in getting the Smart HPP. I cant figure out how you connect your HPP to the kitchen outlet. Have you wired RV 240V Nema 14-50P into the Grid wiring area of the Smart HPP. Appreciate the help. Thanks
 
Sorry for the delayed response. It's been working out great, actually. There's really no breaker in the HPP to the grid connection, the internal of the HPP for the grid side connection is already designed to handle up to 100A, so there's no safety concern to tap into my 40A kitchen over breaker for the intended use instead, because if anything, it'll just pop the breaker sooner rather than later. The only 2 breakers available on the HPP are the 2 side breakers for the F3800 to the HPP.

You shouldn't be anxious about any surges from the F3800s because there's not supposed to be any coming from the F3800 in the first place. The only concern about surges is whether the F3800s can handle the surge demand on large whole-house central ACs or not without a soft start, and the answer there is that the grid will chip in and supplement and handle any surges from the central ACs that the F3800s cannot handle. I've been able to run my 4-ton whole-house central AC just fine with my setup and no soft start installed. But eventually I installed a soft start anyway just for peace of mind, and also in the eventuality that I want to use the 4-ton AC in backup mode.
With your setup of HPP to Grid for AC coupling have you ever had any issues with backed and subsequent warning by your utility company. Was watching
" and Benjamin talks about backed issue. My HPP is inbound and I have high hopes. Thanks, and looking forward to your reply
 
Excellent rather a smart use of the Solix setup. I have 2 x f388 with 2x batteries with Solix double power hub. I charge the F3800's with solar and run my house during peak hours by using a manual changeover switch. I am very interested in getting the Smart HPP. I cant figure out how you connect your HPP to the kitchen outlet. Have you wired RV 240V Nema 14-50P into the Grid wiring area of the Smart HPP. Appreciate the help. Thanks
I just used this cable here.1743060723285.png
 
With your setup of HPP to Grid for AC coupling have you ever had any issues with backed and subsequent warning by your utility company. Was watching
" and Benjamin talks about backed issue. My HPP is inbound and I have high hopes. Thanks, and looking forward to your reply
No, never see any according to my daily usage charts online from the power company, nor have I ever been contacted by them for any warning. The usage charts simply show 0 usage and 0 demand data during my off peak hours. If anything, once in a while it shows some usage drawn from the grid as I might have used more than the derated power of the output can handle.
 
Btw. Anyone with the Anker 3800 find the video just uploaded that shows the "proprietary" aux battery port is literally just a battery connection. You connect to the right ports and you can add any 48 volt battery straight into it. Is literally paralleling to the Ankers internal battery. It'll now charge thru the Anker no differently

This is a massive game changer. Sadly I already sold mine, but information for those who have one
 
Btw. Anyone with the Anker 3800 find the video just uploaded that shows the "proprietary" aux battery port is literally just a battery connection. You connect to the right ports and you can add any 48 volt battery straight into it. Is literally paralleling to the Ankers internal battery. It'll now charge thru the Anker no differently

This is a massive game changer. Sadly I already sold mine, but information for those who have one
Link to the video ?

Also, you must be talking about the new Plus model.
 
With your setup of HPP to Grid for AC coupling have you ever had any issues with backed and subsequent warning by your utility company. Was watching
" and Benjamin talks about backed issue. My HPP is inbound and I have high hopes. Thanks, and looking forward to your reply
My Usage Chart from the PoCo shows 0 or very tiny positive usage, never negative. They average it out by hour, so it isn't super accurate. I also watched the meter itself and only ever saw 0. The display is in kilowatts and shows 2 digits after the dot, so never single digit watt values.

However, I just purchased Emporia VUE Zigbee USB dongle, connected it to the meter and that ones does show it jump around single digits, positive and negative during TOU. So, PoCo can certainly see some feedback, and they should be able to tell what I am doing with HPP and H3800s. That is, if they really care about such things. No warnings yet.

The TOU rate I use has some requirements, an EV or a house battery. Originally, I qualified for it with an EV. However, being that a house battery is also qualifying, I assume the PoCo wouldn't mind seeing this behavior during TOU peak hours. I suspect the only thing they may be worried about is back feeding during outages. Anker states that HPP does support UL 1741 and UL 1741 CRD-PCS which shuts down the grid side of the HPP during outage.
 
Currently my electric service from the grid only gives me 60 amps (old building - this cannot be changed for the time being) and I would like to be able to "supplement" this with a battery whenever needed. [...] Will the F3800 + HPP be able to do this?
No, that's not the F3800. To do the "supplement" that you speak of, you'll need an inverter with "grid interactivity" capabilities— to blend power from two different sources. For example, one of the hybrid inverters from EG4. Probably a whole different conversation for a different thread.
 
I sold my 3800 for many reasons. great unit, but has its place. personally I think there are way better ways to integrate a home setup vs dealing with the limitations it has. if just needing a 240 unit that could be on a camper etc, its great. or just home backup in emergencies.

for anything else, you can buy a decent AIO inverter and batteries for the same price or less
 
for anything else, you can buy a decent AIO inverter and batteries for the same price or less
This thread isn’t about standalone F3800s, but specifically about HPP setup with existing wiring and having it do AC coupling into the main panel. Coupled with being a mobile solution, F3800s and HPP are the only product that will do this, isn’t this right ? Sure, you could do some kind of battery/inverter cart setup for less money, but if you want it to work out of the box, what else can do this ?
 
This thread isn’t about standalone F3800s, but specifically about HPP setup with existing wiring and having it do AC coupling into the main panel. Coupled with being a mobile solution, F3800s and HPP are the only product that will do this, isn’t this right ? Sure, you could do some kind of battery/inverter cart setup for less money, but if you want it to work out of the box, what else can do this ?
You know, I sold mine already after realizing it wasn't for me. Ecoflow has similar integrations. As does at least one other I believe.

Hopefully others have better information
 
You know, I sold mine already after realizing it wasn't for me. Ecoflow has similar integrations. As does at least one other I believe.

Hopefully others have better information
They all have “panels”, into which you can plugin the power stations, Ecoflow, Jackery, etc. I don’t think any of them, other than Anker HPP, feed power back to the main panel, only to the sub-panel. That’s my understand, anyway.
 

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